


Even If It's Forever

by WinterSky101



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dating, Established Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Nightmares, Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Protective Will Solace, Touch-Averse Nico di Angelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSky101/pseuds/WinterSky101
Summary: Nico doesn’t like to be touched. Will respects that, of course, even though he’s got a lot of hugs he wants to give him. Sometimes, though, Nico doesn’t mind, and those are some of the moments Will likes best.Or, five times Will didn’t touch his boyfriend, and one time he did.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 18
Kudos: 204





	Even If It's Forever

Having Nico di Angelo as a boyfriend, Will Solace decided, was absolutely amazing. It was everything he could have hoped for and more, and given that Will had had a crush on Nico since the Battle of Manhattan, he'd had a lot of time to hope. Nico was the absolute best boyfriend Will could possibly have, and it didn't matter that they'd only been together for a day, Will just _knew_.

But it _was_ a little surprising that Nico jumped about five feet in the air when Will tried to put an arm around his shoulders when he met him in front of the Hades cabin before breakfast.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, taking a step back and eyeing Nico worriedly. "You didn't reopen the scratches on your arm again, did you? Those are so close to being fully healed!"

"No, they're fine," Nico replied, although his tone made Will think a followup trip to the infirmary to look them over might be in order. "It's just… I'm not a fan of people touching me."

Will blinked. "What?"

Nico flushed a little. "I don't like being touched."

"But I touch you all the time," Will replied. "You- Oh my gods."

Because now that Will thought about it, Nico _did_ tend to flinch away whenever Will touched him, didn't he? Will was a naturally touchy person, and most people at camp tolerated that, so he didn't tend to curb his more tactile impulses. With Nico, he'd thought Nico was flinching away in pain, since most of the times Will touched him, it was while checking on his wounds. Of course, Nico had tensed up a few times when Will had grabbed him during the battle with Gaea, but that had just been because he was overstimulated and probably surprised by how much a total stranger was grabbing at him, right? And the way Nico went stiff whenever Will checked the scratches on his arms was just because they hurt, right?

Oh my gods, Will was the worst boyfriend _ever_.

"I've been making you uncomfortable this whole time, haven't I?" Will cried. "Oh, Nico, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I-" He swallowed back the rest of his self-flagellation, knowing that would only change the direction of the conversation, which was the last thing they needed. In his mind, however, he called himself a litany of names that would have probably started a fight if anyone else had said them to him.

"No, it's fine," Nico assured him quickly, although he still looked jumpy and nervous. "I just- I wasn't ready for it. But if you want-"

"Nico," Will said seriously, "I'm not going to touch you if you don't like being touched."

Nico swallowed, looking miserable. "But we're…" He looked around, then finished in a hushed tone, " _Boyfriends_."

"So?"

Nico's face fell. "Oh. Um-"

"No!" Will cried, realizing with a shock of horror that Nico's mind had gone in a direction he absolutely did _not_ want it to go. "No, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, just because we're boyfriends doesn't mean I should touch you if you don't like it. I can keep my hands to myself, I promise."

"But you like touching people," Nico protested, and he looked so earnest that Will bit back the automatic dirty joke that popped into mind. (He was a fifteen year old boy, sue him.) "I can get used to it. It's okay."

"But you don't _have_ to," Will told him. For a moment, he was tempted to take Nico's hands to drive his sincerity home, then he mentally kicked himself for coming up with literally the worst thing he could in that situation. "I don't want you to make yourself uncomfortable for my sake. Yeah, I like hugs and holding hands and stuff, but I can do that with other people. Gods know I do it to my siblings enough. If you don't like it, we don't have to do it, period."

"Even with stuff like…" Nico shifted a little, apparently embarrassed. "Kissing?"

"You don't like it, we don't do it," Will repeated. "That goes for anything. And tell me, okay, Nico? If I do something that makes you uncomfortable, tell me, and I won't do it again."

"Even if it's something like you always trying to make me eat healthy?"

Will froze. "Uh…" He couldn't say no without being a hypocrite, but Nico really _did_ need a better diet…

"I'm kidding," Nico told him quickly. "You can keep doing that. I don't mind."

Will relaxed a little. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Nico agreed. "My biggest issue is the touch thing. And, um, keeping this whole thing sort of quiet. It doesn't have to be totally quiet, but…"

"But you only just came out, and you want to keep things slow for now," Will finished. They'd discussed that the night before, after Nico clumsily confessed his crush. Will had promised to let Nico set the speed for their relationship. He wished Nico had brought up the touch thing then - or, preferably, the first time Will ever touched him, so he wouldn't have kept doing it - but at least they had it out in the open now.

"I can try to work on the touch thing," Nico offered. "Maybe it'll get better with time or something. I'll fix it."

Nico's constant self-deprecation never failed to make Will's heart break. "It's nothing you need to fix, Nico. Some people don't like to be touched. Greg Kemp from Ares hates it so much he broke someone's hand for touching him once. Not that Ares kids tend to need a lot of encouragement to break someone's hand, but still. Mina Flint from Hephaestus doesn't like being touched either, especially when she's not expecting it. It's not anything they need to work on or fix, it's just part of who they are." Will shrugs. "If this is part of who you are, then that's that."

"Really?" Nico asked, looking like he could hardly dare believe it.

Will wasn't much of a fighter, but he was going to find every single person who had made Nico feel like something was wrong with him, and he was going to _kick their ass_.

"Really," he promised. "I promise, Nico, unless you want me to, I won't touch you at all. Unless you're hurt and I have to or something, but even then, I'll do as little as possible. If you don't like something, then I don't want to do it."

Nico smiled, just a little. "Okay."

Will grinned back. "Now, should we actually go to breakfast instead of just standing here? It's time for me to harass you into eating better."

Nico's smile widened. "Whatever you say, Solace."

Will winked, glad to be back into less emotionally wrought territory. "Then we should get a move on, di Angelo."

* * *

Normally, Will and Nico didn't sleep together. Technically, they weren't even supposed to be in each other's cabins without supervision, and so a sleepover in the Hades cabin was _definitely_ against the rules.

But all of the seasonal Apollo campers had gone back home, and Kayla and Austin had agreed to cover for Will, so he was definitely seizing the opportunity for a sleepover in the Hades cabin.

Despite some of the gods-awful interior decorating choices - honestly, who had thought beds that looked like coffins were a good idea? - Will thought the Hades cabin was surprisingly cozy. Sure, it was dark and tended to be a little on the cold side, but it had its charming aspects too. For instance, there was a massive hearth that Nico had insisted upon after moving in because apparently he was friends with Hestia, and the warmth from that was made all the nicer by the fact that the rest of the cabin was a little chilly. And the beds, as awful as they were aesthetically, were pretty comfortable and easy to move, so Will and Nico shoved two of them next to each other for their sleepover. They were still clearly two distinct beds, but they weren't planning on doing any snuggling anyway, so that was okay. It was just the proximity they wanted, and the beds were close enough for that.

The beds were also close enough that Will woke up the second he heard Nico whimper.

For a moment, he just looked around in confusion, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings and reminding himself of where he was, then Nico whimpered again and Will realized what had woken him up in the first place. He looked over at his boyfriend worriedly and saw that Nico was curled up tightly on his side, shaking like a leaf and breathing raggedly when he wasn't making little noises of terror and pain. It was, to put it lightly, not a look Will liked on his boyfriend.

"Nico?" he asked gently. "Nico, are you okay?"

There was no response, not that Will had really expected one. He was fairly certain Nico was dreaming, after all. After everything Nico had been through, it would have been more shocking if he _didn't_ have nightmares. That didn't make them any more pleasant for him to experience or Will to watch, though, so Will bit his lip and wondered how he could best wake Nico up.

Touching him was definitely out. Will was all too familiar with people coming out of nightmares swinging if they were touched unexpectedly, and even if that weren't the case, Nico didn't like being touched at all, so Will wasn't going to do it. He wishes he knew more of what Nico's nightmares were about. He assumed they had something to do with Tartarus, but Nico, quite understandably, didn't like to discuss that chapter of his life. Will didn't blame him in the least, but right now, he wished he knew a bit more, because maybe that knowledge would give him an idea of how best to wake Nico up.

"Nico," he murmured, "it's okay. You're in the Hades cabin, at Camp Half-Blood. You're safe. You're not… wherever you think you are. I promise, you're safe."

Nico made another small, terrified noise. Part of Will just wanted to take him and shake him awake, consequences be damned, but he knew better than to do that. It would be a bad idea with anyone, but it was an especially bad idea with Nico, who didn't like being touched even when he was awake and _not_ trapped in what had to be an awful nightmare.

"Nico," Will urged, "please, just wake up, okay? You're safe, I swear you're safe, just _please_ wake up."

Nico just let out another whimper, and Will was honestly starting to wonder if he should run to the Hypnos cabin for help when he noticed the glass of water next to Nico's bed. It was quite possibly an awful idea, but…

But Nico made another noise like he was scared out of his mind, so Will grabbed the glass and dumped it over Nico's head.

There wasn't much water left in the glass, but there was enough to make Nico splutter awake when it splashed on his face. His eyes were wide and stunned, and Will had to fight the urge to pull him into his arms.

"Nico? Are you okay?"

Nico blinked and looked over at Will. "Did you just dump water on me?" he finally asked, his voice raspy.

"You were having a nightmare!" Will protested, relief washing over him. "What was I supposed to do, just let you sleep through it? No way. I had to wake you up _somehow_."

Nico still looked somewhat confused. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, but I'm glad you did. I'm glad I was able to wake _you_ up."

Nico brushed his dripping wet hair away from his face. "So am I," he admitted. "Even if I got soaked in the process."

"You're not _soaked_ ," Will scolded. "Just a little… damp."

Nico shot him an unimpressed look. "I'm gonna go towel off in the bathroom. You can go back to sleep. I'll try not to wake you up again."

"If you have another nightmare, I demand you wake me up again," Will replied, trying to sound imperious. Apparently, it didn't work, because Nico just snorted and climbed out of bed.

"You're okay?" Will called, unable to help himself. Nico _seemed_ fine, but Will had also heard the noises he'd made during his nightmare, and he wanted to make sure Nico wasn't just pretending for his benefit.

"I'm fine," Nico replied. "It's not like this is my first nightmare. I can handle them."

That wasn't the most reassuring answer Will had ever heard, but he'd sort of gotten used to the fact that Nico's answers to his questions were often not particularly reassuring. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Nico assured him. "But, uh, thanks. For waking me up."

Will grinned at him. "Any time."

* * *

The campfire was blazing, the campers were all gathered happily around it, and Will was battling the urge to just lie on the ground with his chin propped up in his hands and admire his beautiful boyfriend.

An improved diet, a lack of unnecessary Underworld powers usage, and fresh air and sunshine had clearly done Nico good. In the past month or so since the war with Gaea and the giants, Nico's skin had lost some of its unhealthily sallowness and was regaining the olive tone Will vaguely remembered it having when Nico first arrived in Camp Half-Blood for those few days a few winters ago. He was no longer nearly skeletally skinny, and he was in no danger of fading into shadows whatsoever. And if Will had thought he was handsome before, it was _nothing_ compared to how he looked now. The firelight didn't hurt either; the warm glow made Nico's skin look flushed and healthy, and the way the light reflected in his dark eyes was weirdly attractive. And, of course, there was the matter of the small smile on Nico's face that always, without fail, made Will fall in love with him all over again.

Will was struck with a sudden urge to kiss his boyfriend.

He tamped it down immediately. There were a million reasons why springing an unexpected kiss - their _first_ kiss - on Nico was a bad idea, the top three being 1) Nico didn't like physical contact, 2) Nico still wanted to keep their relationship on the down-low for a little longer, and 3) Nico deserved a better first kiss than whatever mess this one would definitely be if Will just surged forward and kissed him. No, this was definitely _not_ the time.

But a voice in the back of Will's mind continued to think about how nice it would be to kiss him right now, in the warm firelight, with that little smile on his lips…

"Are you just going to keep staring at me all night, Solace?" Nico asked, breaking into Will's spiraling thoughts.

"Do you have a problem with that, di Angelo?" Will countered. "You're nice to stare at."

Nico's cheeks flushed, to Will's delight. "Are you messing with me?"

"Not one bit," Will replied. "You're _very_ nice to stare at, actually."

Nico's flush only deepened. "Aren't you supposed to be with your siblings to lead the singalong?"

"We're not having a singalong tonight, but I can go if you're trying to subtly get rid of me."

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't embarrassing me."

"How is a compliment embarrassing? You look very nice in the firelight. Ooh, and you look even cuter when you're blushing too."

Nico buried his face in his hands, his cheeks still obviously flaming. "Oh my gods, you're the _worst_."

"Isn't it my job to compliment my boyfriend?"

"So. Embarrassing."

Will laughed and resisted the urge to pull Nico's hands away from his face. "I can leave you alone if you really want me to."

Nico peeked out from behind his fingers, which was unfairly adorable. "You don't need to _go_. Just maybe stop with the compliments."

"I'll do my best," Will promised. "Instead, we can talk about… the campfire. It's a lovely campfire. Top-notch."

"You're ridiculous," Nico groaned, but he pulled his hands away from his face. "What's on your schedule for tomorrow?"

"Um, arts and crafts at… eleven? I think? And I'm taking a shift in the infirmary after lunch. You?"

"Archery in the morning, and then I'm teaching a beginner's sword-fighting class in the afternoon." Nico made a face. "I don't get why Chiron asked _me_ to teach it. I know Percy's gone, but one of the Ares kids could do it, right? Or an Athena kid? No one's going to want to learn from _me_."

Will sighed. "You're wrong on so many counts. First of all, Chiron asked you to teach it cause you're really good with a sword. Second, Ares kids do _not_ tend to be good teachers, and Athena kids can get way too into the theory and forget to do the practice. Third, people will _definitely_ want to learn from you. You're one of the demigods who saved the camp, you're very cute, and all of the young campers totally look up to you."

Nico's eyes went wide. "They _what_?"

"The young campers love you," Will repeated. "They all think you're the coolest. They're not wrong, honestly. I've been thinking of gathering up a few of them and starting a Nico di Angelo fan club."

"You're joking," Nico said, staring. "The kids- No way."

"Yes way," Will confirmed. "The kids love you. Especially because you're nice to them, and don't even try to start with that whole 'Lord of Darkness' thing, because I've seen you with the kids before, and it's _adorable_."

"I've never called myself the Lord of Darkness," Nico said, looking vaguely offended at the accusation. "And I'm not adorable with the kids. I just answer their questions."

"Yeah, and that's adorable. Did I hear one of them asking you something about zombies?"

"Harley wanted to know if they really eat brains. He seemed disappointed when I said they don't."

"Well, that _is_ pretty disappointing," Will agreed. "It means basically every zombie movie ever has been a lie."

"That's basically what he said," Nico replied. He shot Will a look. "Are you serious about the younger campers looking up to me?"

"I mean, not all of them, but a lot of them really like you." Will shrugged. "You answer their questions, and you're really not as scary as you pretend to be. The kids think you're cool. That's probably why Chiron asked you to teach beginner's sword-fighting. Most of the beginners are going to be part of your fan club."

"You're joking about making a fan club, right?" Nico asked. "If not, I'm breaking up with you."

Will clapped a hand to his chest, dramatically falling backwards like he'd been hit with an arrow. "Such cruelty! You don't even appreciate my efforts! They're all for you, you know."

"You're ridiculous," Nico said for the second time that night. "No fan club."

"I was joking about the fan club," Will admitted. "Mostly."

"Will-"

"Okay, I won't do it!"

Nico smiled a little, and Will was once again seized with the urge to kiss him. He didn't, of course, but he wanted to.

"Good, cause if you do, I'll start a Will-Solace-is-ridiculous club."

"Rude."

* * *

Nico, Will had noticed, had been very quiet and withdrawn all day. That wasn't necessarily unusual for him, but he'd been especially quiet and withdrawn, so when Will finished his evening shift at the infirmary, he slipped away to the Hades cabin and knocked on the door.

"Nico? You in there?"

A moment later, Nico opened the door, cautiously peeking out. He was holding something in his hand, fist clenched so tightly around it that Will couldn't see what it was at all. "Is something wrong?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest tightly in the way Will hadn't seen him do for a while now.

"I think there might be, yeah," Will replied. "Are you okay?"

Nico flinched back slightly. "I'm fine," he said in a voice that all but screamed he was not fine.

"You've been kinda weird all day," Will countered. "And you're definitely acting weird now. What's wrong?"

Nico scowled. "Leave me alone, Solace."

"Nope," Will replied, shaking his head. "I mean, I will if you really _really_ want me to, but I'm not going anywhere lightly. You're my boyfriend. That means I'm going to try to help you if you seem upset. And you can't even complain about it, because you signed up for this when you agreed to date me."

Nico glared at him for a long moment, then relented and stepped aside. "Come in, then."

Technically, that was against the rules, but Will and Nico flouted that specific rule a lot, as did most of the other dating couples at camp, so Will didn't really think anything of it as he stepped into the Hades cabin. Nico shut the door and then went over to sit on his bed, his fist still clenched around whatever he was holding. Will watched him for a moment, then he sat down on the bed next to him, careful to leave enough space that they weren't touching.

"Nico, what's wrong? Talk to me."

For a long moment, Nico was silent. Will was starting to think he wouldn't speak at all, then he finally murmured, "Today is Bianca's birthday."

It took Will a moment to place the name, then he abruptly felt horribly guilty for ever forgetting it. "I didn't know."

"I didn't tell you," Nico replied. "I don't think anyone else knows the date, except maybe my father."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Will offered gently.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Do you want to tell me about Bianca?"

Nico sighed, the sound slightly bitter. "She was my sister, I loved her, and then she left me behind and died. What else is there to tell?"

"Uh, that is _definitely_ the highly abridged version of that story," Will retorted. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I think you might feel better if you do."

Nico began to toy with the thing in his hands, which Will realized was a figurine of some sort. "She was my sister," he began again. "After our mom died, she was all I had. I… I only sort of remember my mom, but Bianca was basically like a mom to me after she died. She was always there for me. She was always _nice_ to me, even when I was annoying." Nico smiled, a bit wryly. "I was a really annoying kid."

"I bet you were cute," Will said.

"I was annoying," Nico reiterated. "Bianca and I spent a long time in the Lotus Hotel and Casino, just the two of us, and then we went to Westover Hall, and some of the other kids there got me _really_ into Mythomagic. Like, embarrassingly into it."

Will had a fleeting memory of a ten-year-old Nico di Angelo sitting at the Hermes table and talking one of the Stoll brothers' ears off with a long string of information about attack points and saving points.

"But Bianca was never annoyed with me," Nico continued. "Even when I was being annoying. At least, I never _thought_ she was. She never showed it."

"She was your sister," Will replied. "I'm sure she wasn't annoyed by you being passionate about something."

Nico's mouth twisted. "Yeah, but then she left me behind to join the Hunters, so who knows what she was thinking."

Will felt an urge to wrap an arm around Nico's shoulders, but he kept his hands to himself. If Nico wanted to bridge this distance - and he had done that occasionally, with tentative brushes and touches that would be casual if not for the fact that Nico was very careful not to do them with anyone else - then Nico could do that, but Will wouldn't make that move without knowing it was what Nico wanted.

"She loved you," Will said quietly, not sure what else to say. "I'm sure she loved you."

"I think she did," Nico agreed. "But she still went with the Hunters. She still left me behind." He laughed bitterly. "And then she went on that stupid quest and she _died_." On the last word, he hurled the little figurine across the cabin, then clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and crossed over to retrieve it.

"What is that?" Will asked tentatively.

"The thing she died for," Nico replied, holding it out. It was a little metal figurine that looked vaguely like a Greek god. "It's a Mythomagic figure," Nico explained. "The only one I didn't have. Ironically enough, it's Hades. As far as I can tell from what Percy told me, she stole this from Hephaestus's junkyard and woke up an automaton guard, and then she died stopping it."

"So she died a hero," Will offered gently.

"Doesn't make her any less dead," Nico retorted.

"Nico-"

"And then, after she died, when I tried to summon her spirit, she wouldn't come," Nico added. "She thought I had to let it go or something, but I was _alone_. I just wanted my sister, and she knew what was happening, but she didn't come. She-" He clenched his fist around the figurine so tightly Will was sure it had to hurt. Will almost wanted to take his hands and unwrap his fingers from their death grip, but he knew better than to try.

"She wanted me to move on," Nico said quietly. "But she didn't _help_. She just left. I- I didn't know _how_ to move on. I'm still not sure that I have." He scoffed quietly. "She did, though."

"What do you mean?"

"When the Doors of Death were opened, I looked for her," Nico explained. "I thought- Well, it probably never would have worked, but I thought maybe I could bring Bianca back to life. I'm not sure she would have agreed, but I looked anyway. I scoured Elysium for her. It turned out she'd left me behind again. She was reborn. And I know it was her decision, and she didn't _need_ to tell me, but…" Nico shrugged. "It would have been nice to say goodbye, at least."

Will's heart felt like it might shatter, and he didn't think he'd ever wanted to hug Nico more than he did right then. He didn't do it, though; even if Nico had grown slightly more comfortable with physical contact, that didn't mean he'd want it when he was upset. Anyway, there were other ways to comfort people, and they tended to work better with Nico anyway.

"She loved you," Will said quietly. "I know that doesn't make everything okay, but I'm sure she loved you."

Nico looked down at the figurine in his hands. "She did," he agreed. "But you're right. That doesn't make everything okay."

"Do you want to be alone, or do you want me to stay?" Will asked after a few long moments of silence.

"Stay?" Nico asked tentatively. "I… I don't know if I'll be a very interesting companion right now, but-"

"I'll stay," Will interrupted gently. "I'll stay as long as you want."

If it was what Nico wanted - what Nico _needed_ \- Will would stay forever. He hoped Nico knew that.

* * *

"Nicooooo," Will trilled, bounding over to Nico's side as he put away the practice swords in the arena. "Guess what _I_ have?"

Nico sighed. "A really annoying tendency towards singing when you don't need to?"

"Look, I'm an Apollo kid, it's sort of our thing," Will replied. "But that's not what I'm talking about. I…" - he pulled out a piece of paper with a flourish - "have permission from Chiron for us to leave camp for a date."

Nico blinked. "Did he actually give you written permission?"

"He did," Will agreed. "Listen, it's weirdly formal. _I, Chiron, give the following campers permission to leave the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood until nightfall._ And then it's got our names, and then his signature. I _think_ it's to show to the harpies in case they try to eat us, but I'm not entirely sure they know how to read, so…"

"Maybe they can just recognize Chiron's signature?" Nico suggested.

"Could be," Will agreed. "Anyway, that's not what matters. What matters is that we're allowed to go on a date tonight!"

"Where are we going?" Nico asked.

Will shrugged. "I figure we can just go into the city. I bet we can figure out something do once we're there."

"And how are we getting there?" Nico asked. "Shadow travel?"

Will sighed. "Only the two quick trips, and only because getting a cab all the way here is a very expensive nightmare. But if you seem too tired after the first trip, we'll figure out something else for the way back."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Solace," Nico replied with a small smile. "When do you want to leave?"

"Whenever you're ready," Will replied. "I'm done in the infirmary, so all I have to do is pop into my cabin and freshen up a little. It shouldn't take too long."

"I just have to put these swords away," Nico replied. "And maybe freshen up a little too. I'll find you when I'm ready."

"I'll be the one in orange," Will replied with a wink.

Nico rolled his eyes. "So will half the camp."

"Then you'd better make sure you pick the right one."

"Is that supposed to be you?"

"You wound me," Will sighed dramatically, draping himself over the sword rack.

"Those swords are going to wound you if you're not careful," Nico countered. "Go to your cabin and get ready to go. I'll find you soon."

Will grinned, fought the urge to kiss Nico's cheek, and headed to his cabin. He didn't need to do much there, so after quickly splashing his face with water and brushing his hair, he told Kayla and Austin he was going out and headed towards the center of camp.

He spotted Nico before Nico saw him, which was a rare occurrence. Nico was wearing a slightly-too-big leather jacket that seemed to have replaced his previous aviator jacket, and he was fidgeting with his skull ring. If it were anyone but Nico, Will would have snuck up behind him and put his hands over his eyes, but he had the feeling that doing that with Nico would just get him stabbed.

Before Will could further contemplate dangerously stupid ideas, Nico caught sight of him and crossed towards him. "Are you ready?" he asked, still fiddling with his ring.

"I'm ready," Will replied. "Are you?"

Nico nodded, then held out his arm. "Here. You need to hold on tightly while we shadow travel."

"I've never done this before," Will remarked, taking Nico's arm and gripping it tightly. "What does it-"

And then Nico stepped into a shadow, and Will found himself in the middle of New York City, struggling not to throw up all over the sidewalk.

"Oh my _gods_ , that is awful," Will panted. "How can you do that so often?"

"You get used to it," Nico replied. He was blinking rapidly and swaying slightly, but after a moment, he looked better. "Are you- Do you need anything?"

"Just give me a second to catch my breath," Will replied. He took a few deep breaths, then stood up. "Okay, I'm good. Where are we?"

"Uh…" Nico looked a little embarrassed. "We're, uh, pretty close to Percy's apartment. It was the spot I could visualize best. There's a pretty good pizza place near here."

"Lead the way," Will replied.

Nico offered Will a shy little smile, then started walking in what Will assumed was the direction of the restaurant. Will scrambled forward to walk next to him, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that suggested he take Nico's hand. Will holding his arm to shadow travel was already probably more physical contact than Nico preferred, and Will wasn't going to overstimulate him by touching him more.

"So, this pizza place is good?" Will asked. "I suppose you'd know, right? Since you're Italian?"

"Pizza is more of a Neapolitan thing," Nico replied. "But this is American pizza anyway."

"Is there a difference?"

Nico nodded. "Definitely."

"Do you think you'd ever be able to take me to Italy someday?" Will asked. "To get me real Italian pizza?"

Nico's lips twitched into a small smile. "We could also find an authentic Italian place somewhere closer. I bet we can find one in New York."

"Do you miss Italy?" Will asked.

A faraway look came over Nico's face. "Sometimes. I don't fully remember it, not after the Lethe, but it was… nice. Simpler." He shrugged, seeming to come back to the present. "My last trip there wasn't great, though."

Will remembered hearing about some of the stops the Argo II took in Italy and winced. "Yeah, maybe not the best."

"But maybe someday, we could go," Nico said, shooting Will a shy look. "I doubt Zeus will let me fly, but we could figure something out. It might be nice."

Will grinned at his boyfriend, resisting the urge to drape himself over him like he truly wanted. "I bet it would be." He grinned wider and added, "I even speak Italian, thanks to Dad."

"Your accent is awful," Nico replied immediately.

"Your accent is just weird!" Will protested. "Chiara agrees with me, and she's from Italy."

"It's not weird, I'm just Venetian," Nico replied. "Chiara's accent is weird."

"Chiara's accent is modern, yours is about seventy years out of date."

Nico rolled his eyes. He always insisted that Will's Italian accent was off, even though Will's knowledge of Italian was a literally divine gift shared by all children of Apollo and thus was probably pretty reliable. Personally, Will agreed with Chiara that it was Nico's accent that was weird, and it definitely wasn't helped by the fact that his slang was so old as to be basically unintelligible. Apparently, Chiara had offered to help modernize Nico's slang, but that tended to end with the two of them having arguments over dialect and accent, so Will didn't think there was much progress going on there.

"I guess we can go to Italy and see what people think there," Will decided. "We can even go to Venice if you want."

A small smile spread over Nico's face. "That sounds nice."

Will ached to sling an arm around Nico's shoulders, to pull him close until their bodies were flush, but he didn't. That was only enjoyable when both people were enjoying it, and he knew Nico wouldn't.

"For right now, though, I'll settle for an American pizza place," he added.

Nico's smile grew, just slightly. "You're in luck, because we're here." He pushed open a door. "After you."

Will winked. "Thanks, _principe azzurro_."

"Your accent is still weird."

"I'm trying to be romantic, okay! Lay off my accent!"

* * *

The attack came out of nowhere. One moment, the camp was peaceful, and the next, there were monsters _everywhere_. Of course, those monsters were surrounded by a bunch of highly-trained demigod warriors, so they were all sent back to Tartarus, but not without a fair amount of injuries. There were no deaths, thank the gods, but there was still one camper unaccounted for.

And that camper was Nico di Angelo.

Will knew he had to focus on healing the injured campers, but he couldn't stop worrying about Nico. Every time he heard someone enter the infirmary, his head jerked up, and every time, he was disappointed. He wasn't sure where Nico was, but he did know he wouldn't be able to relax until he saw him. Nico was a very capable warrior and could probably deal with any monsters that went after him, but Will still needed confirmation that he was alright. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten that yet.

Then, finally, as he was putting away his supplies after tending to the last of the injured demigods, he heard someone enter the infirmary. He looked up, and his heart almost stopped.

" _Nico_."

"Hi," Nico said, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry I was gone so long."

"Oh my _gods_ , Nico!" Will cried, running forward. He stopped short just in front of Nico, only a scant few inches away from him. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Just a few bruises," Nico assured him. "And I sort of fell into the Labyrinth."

Will blinked. He knew the Labyrinth had reopened, but he didn't think anyone had really gone in yet. "You _what_?"

"There's an entrance in the forest," Nico explained. "I was fighting a monster and we both fell into it. Of course, since the Labyrinth is annoying, the entrance sealed up once I was in there, so I had to wander for a while to find another way back." He shivered. "I hate that place."

Considering he'd spent a long time practically living in it under the care (a term Will used loosely) of a horribly abusive ghost, Will didn't blame Nico one bit. "But you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Nico promised. "Like I said, just a little bruised. You can even do an examination if you want to."

Will nodded, a little bit quicker than usual. "Okay. Good. That's good."

"I'm okay," Nico repeated, looking a little concerned.

"You're okay," Will repeated. "Oh, thank the _gods_ you're okay!"

And with that, he burst into tears.

Nico's eyes went huge. "Uh, Will, are _you_ okay? Are you- What should I do? Why are you crying?"

"I was so worried," Will sobbed. "I was so worried, and I'm really tired right now, and I'm just gonna cry for a little bit, okay?"

Nico still looked vaguely panicked, but he opened his arms. "Do you want a hug?"

Will did want a hug, he _really_ wanted a hug, but he hesitated. "Not if it'll make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Nico promised him. "I'm still not a fan of touch, but it's not as bad if it's you. And right now, I want to give you a hug."

Will wavered for half a second before relenting. "Well, if you _want_ to," he said, then he threw himself forward into Nico's arms.

Nico staggered backwards half a step, apparently not expecting the hug to be quite so aggressive, but he adjusted quickly, wrapping his arms around Will and holding him tightly as Will cried against Nico's shoulder. To be entirely honest, he wasn't quite sure _why_ he was crying so much, but he was exhausted and overwhelmed, and apparently, his body had decided that crying was the right outlet to deal with that. It wouldn't have been his first choice, but it did seem to be working. The more he cried, the more his body relaxed, tension leaking out along with his tears. By the time he'd cried himself out, he was practically limp in Nico's arms.

"Are you feeling better?" Nico asked tentatively.

"I'm better," Will agreed. He loosened his grip on Nico a little, but Nico didn't loosen his grip on Will at all, so Will took that to mean the hug could continue. "I was really worried about you."

"I'm sorry," Nico apologized. "I came back as fast as I could, but with the Labyrinth, that doesn't mean much."

"It wasn't your fault," Will replied. "And you're okay, so all's well that ends well, right? We're all good."

"Good," Nico said quietly. "I'm sorry I worried you." He hesitated for a moment, then he kissed Will's forehead. "I'll try not to do it again."

"We're demigods, neither of us can make that promise," Will countered. "But try anyway."

"I will," Nico promised.

The hug was lovely, but Will couldn't quite believe his luck in getting one in the first place and then having it last so long. "Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. "With the hug, I mean? I'm done crying now. You can let me go, I won't fall apart."

"This is okay," Nico assured him. "Like I said, it's not as bad if it's you. You're… comfortable. And if hugs make you happy, then giving you hugs makes me happy."

That sounded good to Will, and honestly, now that he'd finished crying, he was too tired to argue. "Okay, but if it's too much, you can let go." He yawned widely. "It's nice, though."

"Maybe you should go back to your cabin," Nico suggested. "It's late, and you seem tired."

"In a minute," Will replied. He was tired, and his bed did sound somewhat tempting, but right now, he wanted to hug Nico and reassure himself that his boyfriend was okay more than he wanted to sleep. "Can we just stay here a little longer?"

"As long as you want," Nico promised.

"Even if it's forever?"

Nico made a soft little laughing sound, one that Will felt more than heard. "Even if it's forever."

"Good," Will said. "Forever sounds nice."

"Yeah," Nico replied in a voice that was so quiet Will barely heard it. "Yeah, it does."

And it did.

**Author's Note:**

> My writing tumblr is [here](http://winterskywrites.tumblr.com/), if you're interested.


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